(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cigarette holder and, more particularly, to a cigarette holder with a hygroscopic filter made of cotton material or carbon.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Two important types of apparatus for smoking are a holder for a cigarette and a pipe for tobacco. The basic object of such an apparatus is to remove or to reduce nicotine or tars from tobacco smoke.
In recent years, the public has shown an increasing concern about the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. As a result, numerous cigarette filters have been designed in an attempt to provide an economical and efficient means to filter out ingredients present in tobacco smoke. Most of these devices, however, do not provide an economical and efficient solution to this problem.
It has long been known that nicotine and tars in tobacco smoke have an adverse effect on the health of smokers. More and more cigarettes are being sold with built-in, dry cigarette filters. But it has been found that hygroscopic filters are even more effective in removing tars and nicotine from tobacco smoke. This is a considerable health benefit to those who wish to continue smoking and assists those who wish to stop smoking their customary nicotine intake to levels which they could more easily do without.
As a result, numerous cigarette filters have been designed in an attempt to provide an economical and efficient means to filter out ingredients present in tobacco smoke. Most of these devices, however, do not provide an economical and efficient solution to this problem.
A conventional cigarette holder comprises a forward cigarette receiving member and a rearward mouthpiece member, the members constructed to form a central cavity adapted to receive a cylindrical filter cartridge.
However, the prior art cigarette holder containing a hygroscopic filtering agent generally suffers from the problem of leakage of the filtering agent. That is, the leakage of the filtering agent may cause the user's clothes to be soiled and cause the filtering agent to be dried. Therefore the holder can be used only for a short period and the filtering material should be changed or should be moistened again.
Some cigarette holders have been designed for exchange filtering material or filter cartridge. U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,849 provides a cigarette holder having a means for simple retrieving and replacing filtering material. However, the cigarette holder is too complicated to make.
Also the prior art cigarette holders are not sufficient for filtering nicotine or tars in tobacco smoke.